What to do when your colleague becomes your boss

It’s an issue which is almost inevitable in most workplaces; that promoting internally leads to a colleague becoming a superior.

But how should staff handle this sudden change in the status quo? Amy Gallo, author of ‘HBR Guide to Managing Conflict at Work’, details how employees can pre-empt any issues in a recent article for the Harvard Business Review.

She cites Robert Sutton, a professor at Stanford University and author of ‘The No Asshole Rule’, who writes: “It’s a weird situation to be in. [Your former peer] can’t quite accept the new role, pretends that nothing will change, and continues to act like your friend, [which] is not good for the group.”

Following on from this, Gallo explains that employees should be aware that things will change – and they need to accept that.